Lorde

Ella Yelich-O'Connor, better known as Lorde, has accomplished more before her 17th birthday than most of us will in a lifetime. She's had a hit record, won a Grammy, and played with Nirvana at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. I have no idea if anyone will be listening to her ten or even five years from now, but as of this moment she's in the sun.

I remember first hearing "Royals," her signature hit, on the radio and thinking it quite good. Later, as I suspect most people did, it was quite a shock to hear that the smooth, elegant voice of that song was only 16. It was like when Steve Winwood was only a kid, but had an adult's voice on "Gimme Some Lovin'." Lorde's voice is precocious, full of age and wisdom, but emanating from a teenage Kiwi.

I've had a chance to listen to her whole album, Pure Heroine, and while it may not measure up to "Royals," it comes close. There isn't a lot of diversity on the album, with all the songs having a kind of jazzy, electronic sound to them, more than one of them beginning with what sounds like the sonar ping of a submarine. They are written by Lorde and Joel Little, who performs all of the instruments, but without ego, as there are no music solos to speak of. It's all about her voice.

Lyrically the album has some subtlety and more than a bit of high school poetry, as one might expect. "Royals," which was oddly inspired by a picture of George Brett, is sort of a modern update of the kind of song that has been around forever--money sure is nice, but it doesn't beat our love:

"We'll never be royals,
It don't run in our blood
That kind of love just ain't or us
We crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler
You can call be queen bee
and baby I'll rule
Let me live that fantasy."

The song is perfectly produced, with backing vocals by Lorde herself, producing a kind of sexy coyote howl on the word "rule." I could listen to this song over and over for an hour.

There are other songs I liked, including "Glory and Gore," "Still Sane," and "Tennis Courts," which would seem to be about kids getting freaky where "love" is more than a score.

I'll be interested to see where Lorde goes from here. A second album would help with a little more range. I don't think she'll be a one-hit wonder, as she has the voice and the songwriting chops to be in it for the long haul.